JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen told the team Thursday night that he is leaving to become coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, a source told ESPN’s Jenna Laine.
The decision capped a two-day saga in which Coen pulled himself from consideration for the Jaguars job, then agreed to a contract extension with the Buccaneers that would have made him the NFL’s highest-paid coordinator, and then changed his mind after Jacksonville reached out to ask him to reconsider after it parted ways with general manager Trent Baalke on Wednesday afternoon.
Coen traveled to Jacksonville on Thursday afternoon and met with owner Shad Khan and interim general manager Ethan Waugh. A source told Laine that Coen reached out to Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles earlier Thursday night to tell him about his renewed interest in the Jaguars’ job, but did not speak with anyone else in the Bucs’ front office.
The Jaguars had interviewed Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham earlier Thursday and were scheduled to have an in-person interview with former New York Jets coach Robert Saleh on Friday.
A league source said they hoped to re-engage with Coen after the exit of Baalke — their GM since 2021 — but were prepared to expand the search into next week if Coen declined.
An unwillingness to work with Baalke instead of a GM of his choice was a factor — but not the main one — in Coen’s initial decision to pull himself from consideration, the source said.
The 39-year-old Coen was one of 10 candidates the Jaguars interviewed, with the sides first speaking virtually Jan. 15. He will be the eighth head coach in franchise history and replace Doug Pederson, whom Khan fired Jan. 6 after three seasons.
Coen will become the fourth-youngest active head coach in the NFL, behind only the Seattle Seahawks‘ Mike Macdonald (37), Chicago Bears‘ Ben Johnson (38) and Los Angeles Rams’ Sean McVay (38).
Coen has spent 15 seasons as an assistant coach, including 10 at the collegiate level. He spent four seasons with the Rams under McVay as an assistant wide receivers coach (two years), assistant quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator (2022), and then this past season with the Buccaneers under Bowles.
Coen was hired by Tampa Bay to replace Dave Canales, who left the Bucs to become coach of the Carolina Panthers. That reunited Coen with Baker Mayfield — whom Coen had coached with the Rams in 2022 — and the two put together one of the best offenses in Bucs history.
Mayfield’s passer rating of 106.8 was a franchise record, and the Bucs were the only team in the NFL to rank in the top five in passing yards per game (250.4) and rushing yards per game (149.2). The Bucs ranked in the top five in total offense (399.6 yards per game), scoring (29.5 points per game), rushing, passing, third down conversions (a league-high 50.9%) and red zone efficiency (66.7%).
In addition, Mayfield set career highs in passing yards (4,500), passing touchdowns (41) and completion percentage (71.4%) — all of which ranked in the top three in the NFL.
The Rams offense struggled in 2022 because quarterback Matthew Stafford missed eight games due to a concussion and spinal cord contusion. Los Angeles started four quarterbacks that season: Stafford (9), Mayfield (4), John Wolford (3) and Bryce Perkins (1) and finished last in total offense (280.5 yards per game) and 27th in scoring (18.1 points per game), rushing (97.7 yards per game), and passing (182.8 yards per game).
Coen spent 10 seasons as a collegiate assistant, including two separate stints as Kentucky’s offensive coordinator (2021, 2023).
This was a critical hire for Khan because he’s trying to find some long-term stability for franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence will be on his third full-time coach and fourth playcaller in five seasons in the NFL.
The Jaguars went 4-13 in 2024, the 10th time in Khan’s 13 seasons as owner his team has posted double-digit losses.
